The History Of America In My Lifetime - by Brooks Sterritt (Paperback)

About the Book

"What follows is an account of events experienced by the above man. As a film subject, he was one of the best I've ever seen, despite a complete lack of dramatic ability. The sources I've used for the creation of this report are, in the main, video footage-both consensual interviews with the subject and footage generated without his knowledge. At the time of this writing, he is employed at a facility called Shred Authority Neighborhood Storage. In terms of familial relationships, he has two sisters (no contact), a mother (no contact), and a father (yearly contact). His sexual interests are best described as disappointingly vanilla with longtime urges for mild deviancy. Hobbies include cycling, occasional woodworking, and researching arcane topics on the Internet and internalizing them. He lacks a formal education, yet is adept at finding information, albeit in an unsystematic way. I chose this subject not because of the events he experienced-though they are thrilling and profound-but because he stumbled across something that no one could turn away from. Though a select few of you may be familiar with my film work, I've recently retired to pursue other forms, hence the at times novelistic appearance of the following narrative"--

Book Synopsis

She inquired about our shredding charges and I explained the various security levels (1-6) and our pricing plans. We also offered pulping, pulverizing, and chemical decomposition, though these are rarely requested. The woman said she wanted something between your conventional office shredder and your highest security shredder, which can turn an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet into over 15,000 particles. I led her to our 650-Sheet Cross-Cut Shredder/Baler Combo. It's gorgeous.

Review Quotes

Brooks Sterritt writes like a demented John McPhee.

Luis Alberto Urrea, Pulitzer Prize finalist

and author of The House of Broken Angels,

The Hummingbird's Daughter, and

Into the Beautiful North

If Nicholson Baker wrote The Crying of Lot 49 it might read something like The History of America in My Lifetime. Mind-bending, suspenseful, and extremely funny-I found this novel the perfect balance of intellectual challenge and pure pleasure.

Jac Jemc, author of False Bingo and The Grip of It

The History of America in My Lifetime slips into the neural network of your brain and declines extraction-an amazing and unforgettable novel.

Michael Kimball, author of Big Ray, Dear Everybody,

Us, and The One-Hour MFA